Property Owned As Tenants In Common
Law3 mins ago
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For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.It's a shady issue. Ideas can't be copyrighted (they can be patented and some authors do this -- Alastair Reynolds is a good example) but if you have something written then you own the copyright by default. And just rewriting something always counts as plagiarism. You couldn't, for example, take the substance of what I have just written here, re-hash it and then pass it off as your own work just because you have used different words.
I've not heard of this before, but some unscrupulous people will always be ready to try and take advantage. I would suggest that if you haven't already done so, send yourself a copy of the manuscript by either recorded or registered post as a matter of urgency. Make sure it is dated and that the envelope is never opened unless copyright is challenged and even then it should only be opened by a solicitor. My husband writes songs and he always does this as a matter of course.
Copyright begins as soon as the creative piece of work is completed. An alternative is to put a copy of the manuscript in an envelope and to hand it to your bank for safe keeping and have them sign to say the date that they received it. HTH.
You cannot copyright ideas.
Unless you are very rich and have lots of time, you stand no chance, IMHO. If you are rich you could go to law and that might frighten them, but in the extremely unlikely chance you win, will you even get your costs back - how much money does the publisher have.
Why not get professional advice from a writers organisation.
I would have thought that you have a case, especially if you have any of his "tough luck" claim in writing. However, as Pinotage says, suing him will probably cost a lot for possibly little return.
If you have proof of his duplicity (and thus could defend any libel accusation he could make against you), you could try letting people know what a rip-off merchant this guy is! Maybe you could threaten him with this, and see what his response is. If all you want is a credit, it won't cost him much to insert it in later editions, or even to issue errata slips to correct the current edition.
However, I'm not a legal expert - that's just what I'd do.
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